Hitting the Nail on the Head

Ye Xinglan looked at the few training plans on the coffee table, each one filled with her hard work and anger, then at Tang Wulin and Gu Yue sitting upright across from her, shame and determination mixed in their eyes. She snorted coldly. "All talk and no action is worthless. Now. Right this second. Come with me to the training grounds."

She stood and headed outside first, her high ponytail cutting a crisp arc through the air with unquestionable authority.

Even on a weekend afternoon, the inner court's training grounds still held scattered students practicing. Shouts and the booms of Soul Power collisions rang out without end. Ye Xinglan led Tang Wulin and Gu Yue to a relatively secluded corner, where the ground was laid with specially made cushioning crystals that could effectively absorb impacts.

"Fine, we'll start with the first sheet I gave you: 'Introduction to Elemental Perception and Soul Power Introspection.'" Ye Xinglan stood to one side with her arms folded, her gaze sharp. "Gu Yue, you first. Try to sense the free water elements around you, then draw out a trace and condense it into a droplet in front of me."

Gu Yue took a deep breath and nodded. She closed her eyes and tried hard to recall the feeling from years ago. Yet the water elemental fluctuations that had once been crystal clear in her mind now seemed hidden behind a thick layer of frosted glass, blurred and indistinct. She focused, trying to use the somewhat viscous, sluggish Soul Power in her body to touch and draw in those elemental particles.

One minute passed. Then two minutes... Fine beads of sweat gradually formed on Gu Yue's forehead, and her face shifted from focused concentration to a faint pallor. The air around her became slightly damp, but she was still far from condensing a visible droplet.

"Too slow." Ye Xinglan frowned. "Your Soul Power pathways are running far too sluggishly. It's like swimming through paste. Tang Wulin, your turn. Release your Blue Silver Emperor and try to wrap it around that pillar."

Tang Wulin forced himself to step forward and activated his martial soul the way he remembered. A faint blue gleam flickered in his palm, and a slightly illusory, dim-colored Blue Silver Emperor barely emerged. It drooped limply from his hand. Forget wrapping around the pillar—it could not even support its own weight. It swayed a few times before vanishing into the air with a soft pop.

Tang Wulin's face flushed red as he stood there awkwardly.

"Honestly." Ye Xinglan made no effort to hide her disdain. "This is it? When you two were inseparable by Sea God Lake, with your Soul Powers resonating, you certainly weren't this pathetic. Enough standing around. Start with the basic guidance technique for Soul Power Heavenly Circulation. One hundred repetitions. I want to see your Soul Power flowing steadily like a stream, not crashing around like a mudslide."

Thus, a strange sight appeared in one corner of the vast training grounds: a married couple who appeared to possess considerable cultivation sat cross-legged on the ground, clumsily forming hand seals with solemn expressions. Yet because their Soul Power would not flow smoothly, they occasionally frowned and trembled, looking exactly like two children just beginning their training.

For the first ten minutes, Ye Xinglan merely stood with her arms folded, watching coldly and occasionally correcting their hand positions or breathing rhythm. But then half an hour passed, and nearly an hour...

Ye Xinglan keenly realized that something was wrong.

Gu Yue's breathing had become disordered. It was not simply due to obstructed Soul Power circulation; there was also a deep exhaustion in it. The sweat at her temples gathered into little streams and slid down her face. Her complexion changed from pale to an unhealthy flush, and her body began to sway faintly. Tang Wulin was not doing much better. Though he stubbornly held on, his lips had turned white, the veins on his forehead twitched faintly, and every breath seemed exceptionally difficult, as if he had just finished running a marathon.

"Stop!" Ye Xinglan finally could not help shouting.

Gu Yue went limp and nearly collapsed to the ground, but Tang Wulin quickly reached out and caught her. The two leaned against each other, gasping for breath, seeming to lack even the strength to speak.

Ye Xinglan walked over, crouched before them, and swept her sharp gaze across their faces before looking at their hands, which trembled faintly from exhaustion. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, a knowing yet deeply mocking curve appeared on her lips.

"Heh, and here I thought it was some huge problem." Ye Xinglan's voice carried the teasing satisfaction of having caught them red-handed. "Gu Yue, tell me honestly. Have you two been indulging yourselves too much lately?"

"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!" Tang Wulin, who had been drinking water, nearly sprayed it out in one mouthful and choked until his entire face turned red.

Gu Yue instantly flushed from her neck to her cheeks. Glowering at Ye Xinglan in embarrassment and anger, she said, "Xinglan! Wh-what nonsense are you talking about?!"

"Nonsense?" Ye Xinglan folded her arms and lifted her chin, beginning to "enlighten" them in the tone of an experienced elder, despite having no actual experience herself. "Look at the state you're in. Your Soul Power is unstable and floating, your spirits are weary, and your meridians are depleted. These are classic signs that your essence, energy, and spirit have been drained dry! Other than making music every night without restraint, what else could leave you looking like this in barely over an hour? Hmm?"

The more she spoke, the more worked up she became. She reached out and poked Tang Wulin in the chest. "Tang Wulin, who would have thought that you looked so honest, yet were such a beast in private! You've drained Gu Yue dry, and you're not much better yourself. Look at your pulse—it's so weak I can barely feel it!"

Then she abruptly turned toward Gu Yue. "And you! You're a strong attack-type Soul Master. Your endurance used to be first-rate too, so why are you this delicate now? Can't you show a little restraint? You need to know how to manage a household, understand?"

Gu Yue was so embarrassed that she nearly buried her head in the ground. She weakly protested in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "It's... it's not every day... It's just... the frequency was a tiny bit higher..."

"A tiny bit higher?" Ye Xinglan raised her brows exaggeratedly, her voice suddenly rising. "A tiny bit higher could leave an eight-ring and a seven-ring Soul Master unable to finish even a basic guidance technique? Who are you trying to fool? I think you'd love nothing more than to move your marital home onto the bed!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. With her hands on her hips, she looked like a household matron declaring that she only had their best interests at heart. "Take my advice. The two of you—especially you, Tang Wulin—rein it in! Once a week, twice at most! No more than that! Otherwise, three months from now, you won't even be able to maintain human form. You'll turn into dried corpses!"

Tang Wulin finally could not take it anymore. While sending gentle Soul Power into Gu Yue to help calm her breathing, he rolled his eyes so hard they nearly turned over and snapped back, "Xinglan, that's easy for you to say. We're husband and wife, and we have a loving relationship. We're in perfect harmony, understand? Unlike you, hugging your lesson plans to sleep every day and guarding that pure maiden's heart of yours. Nobody wants you, and you can't find anyone to put it into practice with, so you can only make excuses to comfort yourself!"

"Tang! Wulin!" Ye Xinglan's pupils abruptly contracted. Her expression froze for an instant before astonishing fury erupted across her face. "Are you looking to die?!"

The fluctuations of Soul Power around her suddenly intensified, and a fierce sharpness locked onto Tang Wulin. Even the surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees. Tang Wulin instantly felt the pressure multiply, cold sweat pouring down his back as he hurriedly shrank farther behind Gu Yue.

Gu Yue was also startled by Tang Wulin's sudden suicidal remark. She quickly grabbed Ye Xinglan's sleeve and pleaded, "Xinglan! Xinglan! Don't listen to his nonsense! He has a filthy mouth! I'll make him kneel on a washboard later! Please calm down first!"

Ye Xinglan's chest heaved violently. She shot Tang Wulin a fierce glare, her eyes seeming to say, "Next time, I'll turn you into a pincushion." She shook off Gu Yue's hand and turned away from the shameless couple in a huff. After taking several deep breaths, she barely suppressed the urge to summon the Star God Sword and cleave Tang Wulin in half on the spot.

"Fine, you two lovebirds can go be sickening somewhere else!" Ye Xinglan snapped. She took out two bottles of specially formulated recovery medicine from her soul tool and set them before the pair with two bangs. "Drink these and replenish the energy you've squandered! Starting tomorrow, cut back, but you must follow the plan strictly! If you dare use 'overindulgence' as an excuse to slack off again, I'll personally come to your door and supervise your training. Around the clock."

Tang Wulin and Gu Yue exchanged looks, then silently picked up the bitter medicine and tipped it down their throats. As they felt its effects spread through their bodies, slowly nourishing their overdrawn strength, their hearts were filled with mixed feelings.

Ye Xinglan's declaration about her "pure maiden's heart" would probably become the thing they most wanted to mock in private, yet would never dare say aloud, for a very long time to come.

Even the wind in the corner of the training grounds seemed to carry the scent of gossip and teasing, chilling the hearts of the "weak" couple to the bone.

Tang Wulin secretly glanced at Ye Xinglan's profile, which looked calm but remained taut beneath the surface, and silently told himself, Tonight, I'd better go to sleep early... This debt will have to be repaid slowly.